A New Hope
by kicho14
Summary: Written for Liz, at the Jedi Mistletoe Exchange. This is an altered version of the RotS ending, and as far as it goes for the trio situation – Obi-Wan and Padmé are in love, obviously hiding that for Anakin’s sake, but Anakin still turns to Darth Vader.


1. Of the lull _within_ the storm

She felt his fingers across her cheek, his hand coming to rest on her hair for a brief moment as he pressed his lips on her forehead, his breath and softly murmured words warming it slightly, lulling her to sleep. But it was not those words she sought to hear, neither the sleep she desired. She tried saying his name again, but it only came out as a warped whisper, as her tiredness took over, and her nightmares claimed her once again…

2. Big wishes and forgotten longings

His calloused hand gently caressed her cheek, allowing it to linger there for a moment longer after she drifted to sleep. He gazed at her sadly, looking at the once so strong and beautiful woman, now _broken_ by misery, her pregnant belly unnaturally high against her thin frame. He could have stood there for an eternity, looking at her, trying to erase all of her worries and sufferings by the mere strength of his gaze, but he knew he shouldn't risk staying there any longer; his grief was rising to an unnatural level, and the Force shrilled with warning. He sensed the Dark Side, and knew instantly around whom it was centered; and turned to the cockpit. After all, he highly doubted Threepio could outfly the Emperor…

3. It's the end of one nightmare…

"_You traitress!! I knew it! –"No, Anakin, don't!" –"Shut up! You deceived me! You are no angel at all!" –"You can't fight us, Darth. If you kill us, we'll become more powerful than you can ever imagine…" –"It is your destiny. It is pointless to resist, my love…" –"Everything is proceeding as I've foreseen. Soon the Rebellion will be squashed, and you, Amidala, dragged down with it, to meet your and Kenobi's end…" –"Noooooo!!!!!"_

The screaming brought her out of the swirling vortex of colors and faces, both familiar and foreign. The sound pierced her ears, but it wasn't until she opened her eyes, and felt Obi-Wan's hands cradling her that she realized it was coming out of her. The instant she stopped screaming, a burning pain in her throat turned her hurriedly taken gasp into a violent cough, and she passed out in his arms…

4. …And the beginning of another

He held Padmé gingerly, scared he might break her fragile body if he moved her an inch. He tried to channel the Force in his mind, through all the affection he had for this woman and send soothing waves to her. Her body relaxed a bit, the change drawing another cough out of her, albeit a much softer one; and her face lost some of the worry lines. He put her head back on the pillow, and was turning to leave, when he finally noticed the small, but unmistakable scarlet stream of _blood_, slowly trickling from the edge of her mouth down her cheek…

5. No bliss without the agony

"Don't you dare give up on me, Padmé Amidala! C'mon, wake up!" The clipped, musical Coruscanti voice was a _heaven_ to her ears, and she considered not doing as he pleaded, only so that she would hear its soothing sound some more. However, that little, selfish, girlish impulse was repressed almost immediately, due to her years of putting aside her needs; and she opened her eyes, wanting to reassure her dearest friend she was all right, but all chances of wording that vaporized, however, as another violent cough started shredding her body to pieces…

6. Despairs at the unknown

He'd grasped handfuls of his hair in his palms, wanting to tear it away, seeking for a vent for his frustration. "No internal damage done.", how could R2 know whether she was hurting, or not? He was an astromech droid, for Force's sake, not a medic! There _was_ something wrong with her, he sensed it, he felt it; slowly draining her of her life, and yet, he could not find it. It was driving him mad. There he was, on a ship going Force knows where, following some coordinates he could not decipher for his sake, listening to a protocol droid going on and on about the little astromech's many faults and miswirings; and all the while, the woman he cared most on this world about was dying, right in front of his eyes…

7. Dawn at the understanding…

The first thing she became aware of was the dazzling white light, scorching her eyes, and almost blinding her. The second was the sensation of something constricting her from her waist down, and the total loss of feeling in her legs. The third thing was a pair of azure, dazzling eyes that _never_ failed to take her breath away. Not on Naboo, when they descended from a balcony, not on Tatooine, when they comforted her over the worries for her people, not on Geonosis, when death was looming over them both, and not even on Coruscant, when they stared in her brown orbs, lost in the love they conveyed. Granted, those same eyes were now red-rimmed, and the brows above them furrowed in concern and some other emotion she couldn't discern, but they were still beautiful and breath-taking. And then, as the eyes shed a tear, and the crystal droplet fell on her fingers, for which she only then realized that were held tenderly in his hand; she recognized the other emotion. It was grief…

8. …And grief at the consequences

By now, he'd heard her say his name – yell it, moan it, whisper it – over a hundred thousand times surely, but still, each time had been as blood-boiling thrill as the previous one, and incomparably paler than the next one. And yet, now, as she softly murmured it, he didn't feel the excitement in the pit of his stomach, he couldn't sense the desire in his body, he wasn't able to be filled with that warmth of the unconditional love they had. Now, it only added sharp, acid blow after blow to his heart, as he was reminded with each syllable how _bitterly_ he was going to miss her…

9. Love and the things it makes people do

She was barely even aware of the pain in her lower regions as she inhaled deeply. Her throat burned her with every breath, and she felt the metallic taste of the blood on her tongue again. And yet, she kept it going. Breathe in, breathe out, it was all she could do to help the medics with the birth, and she kept herself going for them, her children. Obi-Wan kept encouraging her, but the red haze had started to dense more rapidly. She remembered the cry of her twins, the noise like sharp bells ringing in her heart; remembered her naming them, and reaching out to touch them; remembered his clipped voice soothing her and his lips caressing her face, and then – nothing, as she faded out to the darkness…

"_She won't die!" –"Obi-Wan, I understand your pain, but there is nothing else you can do. I'd do anything to help her, but there is _nothing_ you can do, you heard the medics." –"Listen to me, Bail, I know what is wrong with her, I know why the medics can't figure it out, it's a Force injury, she was Force-choked, I know-" –"Obi-Wan, please. Please. Calm down. Even if it is a Force injury, can you do anything to help her?" –"I, I don't know. I can try-" –"Do, or do not. There is no try." –"Yes, Master."_

Searing warmth shot through her larynx, and she gasped, savoring the fact that the gasp was not followed by a cough, or the taste of blood. Pain was seemingly and miraculously absent, too. Opening her eyes, she found herself gazing in the azure orbs she thought she'd never see again, and she couldn't help it, but throw herself in his arms…

10. A new hope and chance for a happy beginning

He just stood there for a moment, frozen, as she threw herself against his chest with an astonishing strength for a woman who'd just fought an impossible battle and defeated death by mere inches. He stood there, until the realization that she was really alive, and well, and still the strong Padmé he knew hit him harder than a blaster bolt, and he returned the hug with frantic desperation, almost crushing her while doing so. There would be their children to protect, an Empire to defeat and peace to be brought back; but he let that rest for a moment, while he kissed her, his hands buried in her hair and eyes locked on hers and softly whispered to her, maybe for the first, and maybe for the hundredth and first time: "_I love you_"…


End file.
